Black Sail
Chapter 80: LXXX. Long-term Strategy

Chapter 80: LXXX. Long-term Strategy

That day lingered in Liszt’s mind like a never-ending nightmare, each scene vividly imprinted in his memory.

He and a few classmates had been holding strong corrosive agents.

They had opened every gate of the big prison for prisoners with heinous crimes.

Now recalling, those gates were harder than steel, forged with secret energy materials, and were difficult to force open without keys.

It was just that the acid was too potent.

Liszt had released quite a few people.

Although there was a language barrier, Liszt still recognized some brothers, naturally gifted with the talent for the underworld—the kind of rapport that comes with a pat on the shoulder and a few punches on the chest, a sign of loyalty.

These big brothers knew they had to release the fierce convicts hidden in the depths of the prison and headed straight to the very back of the facility.

That eventually led to a massive riot, utter chaos, with more than half of the still-alive inmates escaping.

Liszt hadn’t expected his debut to hit such a peak; to this date, it remained the highest-profile battle he had ever participated in.

He wondered if after ten years, when elementary school girls had all turned into young women, they would still recognize him.

Just now, the gossippers had been discussing a recaptured heavy criminal; astonishingly, it was one of the brothers Liszt had recognized back then.

Known in the underworld as Turbid River Dragon, he was an Old Cannon among Old Cannons and once a local hero in the Inner Sea Golden Waters.

Liszt understood that he couldn’t just focus on the East Sea Domain, even though he wasn’t even significant there—just part of a notorious pirate gang. But Dragon Lady would be his eventually, and the world would be his.

To do big things, he had to level up; the stronger the men, the better.

What kind of man was Black Sail First Mate Fen? In ancient times, there was the Immortal General Han Xin, and today, there was General Fen; leading more men, the better—the unmatched national hero. That was the absolute Human Rights Card, the confidence that the eighteen-sided warrior brought him.

Aran had suffered for a long time. When the time came, he would carry the sword to Loh, explain the stakes, and the people of the Western Continent would rejoice with food and wine at the arrival of the royal forces.

Originally, Liszt thought he could never return and was just blindly hoping; now, it seems capturing that Magician alive, use him, then kill him wasn’t such a farfetched idea.

Emperor Liszt.

Damn, that did sound incredibly badass, didn’t it?

Shadi had no idea what Liszt was pondering; his expressions were twisted, almost like a fierce grin.

Liszt realized he had to save this Old Cannon.

Returning to Heaven Port, the tasks naturally included setting up his own turf.

The process might take a long time; those bosses were not pushovers.

They had already monopolized the upper-tier fencing channels of the East Sea, forcing all pirates to sell to them. What? Go to someone else to fence your goods? Sorry, I’ve killed them all. What? You’re not selling? Then starve.

War is an extension of politics, and politics is an extension of interests.

With money comes power; money is the interest.

With Golden Dragon secured, the Emperor would be unstoppable.

The current situation was that he couldn’t possibly defeat those bosses.

Liszt could say responsibly that all those success seminars were nonsense.

Wisdom was useful but not entirely; it only slightly increased the odds of winning a strategic gamble.

The most crucial aspect was the cost of trial and error; he could afford to lose a thousand times without trouble, but winning just once would let him massacre all around.

The best example was the game StarCraft—I start with ten mines, fifty miners. If you know how to play, complete domination over the handicapped emperor is guaranteed.

Starting with a six-item build, and a Doran Blade, are entirely two different concepts.

This is what they call the Matthew effect; it applies to economics, society, and the world.

Since he couldn’t switch careers ashore, his only option was to go all in with the dark path.

Black Sail was an extremely mature pirate gang—violent, brutal, notorious, lacking nothing.

Without a foundational operation, what was he most lacking now? A credible endorsement. With endorsement, people would be willing to do business with him. Take Morison, for example, who would dare to trade with Brother Sha? After the goods are handed over, you get instantly killed; what’s there to discuss? Who would you complain to?

Single-sellers can never outdo platform builders. Take adventurers, no matter how skilled, can you eat without a guild to refer jobs? Can you be mightier than the Emperor? Liszt understood this principle.

After all these years, he had carried the flag and stood firm; now, it was time to build the platform.

It was time for something big.

This had nothing to do with combat power or wisdom; Black Sail desperately needed an influential Old Cannon with strong appeal for endorsement, enhancing its status from a violent gang to an official guide.

Bringing Turbid River Dragon aboard didn’t require him to do much. He was already old when Liszt met him; by now, he probably could hardly lift a sword, just let him be a mascot on the island.

Heaven Port now stood as a titanic force with three strong allies, followed by their own top-notch powerful pirate group. He had an affair with the daughter of a big-shot, which could be well utilized and was promising.

"I absolutely have to save my brother, the one who’s been through life and death with me!"

Liszt slapped his thigh, already having made up his mind. It was inevitable—he was in too deep with the Dragon. After all, dealing with the True Dragon was intended to make handling the Turbid River Dragon a breeze.

At the gambling hall, there were plenty of people supervising, who had long since noticed Liszt and another person, finding them familiar, and had someone check the Bounty Order.

It turned out he was the Captain of Black Sail.

The lackey didn’t delay and immediately went to consult with the duty manager—these two had lost a substantial amount of money, likely not here to stir trouble or rob the place.

Inside the manager’s office.

The duty manager nearly pissed himself.

What calibre were these supervisors at the gambling hall? They’re just random thugs gathered from everywhere, but how could they compare with the desperados mingling around Heaven Port?

In the East Sea, and even radiating throughout the Southeast coast of the Western Continent, the words "Heaven Port" carried significant weight.

Put it this way: if even an AI came there, it would crash, and the Three-body people would have to detour.

Those who could make a name at Heaven Port were among the toughest of the tough.

The manager hastily had someone invite the two gentlemen over, ensuring their lost money was returned in full and had some modest gifts prepared to send over later.

As Liszt was sneering in the casino,

"Captain, our manager would like to invite you over for a chat."

A lackey spoke to Liszt, utterly respectful, fearing he might provoke him.

"Are you fucking blind?"

Liszt, who was lost in lewd thoughts, got interrupted and was extremely annoyed.

The lackey was on the verge of tears; was this really not a robbery? He quietly revealed the truth, saying the manager wanted to apologize to the two.

This baffled Liszt completely, and he and Shadi went to where the manager was.

Liszt didn’t waste words. He found a chair and sat down with swagger, while Shadi even sat on the desk, fiddling with the desk ornaments.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

Liszt’s brain couldn’t keep up.

"It’s like this. The two of you came by our establishment and didn’t enjoy yourselves to the fullest, which was my negligence. Here are some gifts prepared for you; please accept them."

The manager offered a smile and had someone bring out ten Golden Dragons, a box of high-grade tobacco, and a box of tea, all nicely packed in exquisite gift bags.

As Liszt looked at the amount, he figured it out—were you afraid we would welch and cause you trouble? Fuck, are we those kinds of people?

"We lost, and that’s that. What’s there to talk about? I like to fight empty-handed. Let’s go."

Liszt thought this was some trivial issue.

Shadi was stunned. You’re refusing free stuff?

"That won’t do. How about this."

The manager called over a beautiful Yisu woman to bring the stuff over, and also told her not to come back after that, to stay with Liszt from then on.

"How can we bring a woman on a pirate ship? Let’s go."

Liszt pondered about rescuing Old Cannon, perfectly timing it since his connection with the admiral here was like open-fire roasting meat—totally familiar.

"You don’t want money, nor the woman, what the fuck do you want?"

Shadi was left speechless by Liszt, guessing he must have gone mad thinking of the dragon onboard.

"I want to reattach Black Sail’s leg."

Liszt didn’t hesitate.

"What leg?"

Both the manager and Shadi were confused,

"The leg of a chivalrous hero with a soft heart!"

Liszt pondered, having come all this way; he might as well ask this local manager carefully about the Turbid River Dragon stuff.

He had already set his first long-term strategy.

He was going to create...

A new! Heaven Port!